The Shining

The book I last read was The Shining by the famous horror novelist Stephen King. The book enticed me, it was a film/book I had heard of for many years. It is safe to say it is famous. The famous line 'Here's Johnny' is known worldwide, even though its origin was from an American game show, it is primarily known from this franchise. So what is my opinion of this book? Do I recommend it and should a reader who doesn’t like horror read it? 

Plot:

A writer, Jack Torrance, takes a job as an off-season caretaker at an isolated hotel. His young son possesses psychic abilities and is able to see things from the past and future, such as the ghosts who inhabit the hotel. Soon after settling in, the family is trapped in the hotel by a snowstorm, and Jack gradually becomes influenced by a supernatural presence; he descends into madness and attempts to murder his wife and son.

Film or book:

Book, hands down. Next question

Why you should read this book:

This book is well known because it did something that had never before its time. Stephen King ones one of very little horror writers and a lot of themes had remained unexplored. King delves deep into the theme of supernatural pros (very rare) and cons (very common). Kings also manages to do a lot with little characters. Most of the book features only the family, Jack, his wife Wendy and their son Danny. King writes each character cleverly. Wendy plays the part of the neutral and as the most relatable character. She is a hard working mother who tries to keep everyone happy. Jack plays the part of the villain. He is broken man, with broken memories, violent and ex-alcoholic and is unfixable. Wendy tries to fix Jack, and along with the isolation this makes Jack snap. Danny plays the part of a helpless hero who tries his best to stay away from trouble (which finds him).

The book is written well, really well each Chapter reveals small details of each character. For instance Jack is still guilt driven by the fact he could have drove over a child whilst driving under the influence of alcohol. The no chronological style changes opinion of characters quick. You can go from feeling sorry for a character to hating them. And by the end the only character I liked was the chef and he was killed by that prick Jack! (sorry). Read this book for the characters but…

Does the book do what is should do.

No. This book is not scary. Uncomfortable? Maybe at times but it is not scary. At is time/peak was it scary, yes. But no more. The book/film has had many clones of its style, characters and themes in all forms of entertainment have been way more controversial (looking at you human centipede) that makes this look like a walk in a park. This book delves into characters perfectly. But the genre has gone to further levels leaving this book behind.

Rating

**** - Great, enjoyable, left behind in its prime.